PETALING JAYA: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng
has said that although he opposes the implementation of the Automated
Enforcement System (AES), those slapped with summonses should still pay
up.

“These are summonses that have been issued under the law, and
the law has to be respected,” said Lim, who is the DAP
secretary-general.

Responding to the call by PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar
for AES summonses issued by the Road Transport Department to be ignored
and contested in court, Lim said he understood why Mahfuz was saying
so.

“But as a Chief Minister, before telling people not to pay
... I would rather wait for discussions with the Transport Ministry,”
Lim told reporters after opening the Selangor DAP annual convention here
yesterday.
He said Pakatan Rakyat and the state governments
controlled by it would not have opposed AES as much if not for the way
the concession agreement was drawn up.

“There are many elements
which have caused public anger, such as privatising enforcement and
commercialising summonses,” he said.

To date, the Pakatan-led
state governments in Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan have decided
to defer the implementation of AES in their states, involving 331
cameras out of the 831 to be set up nationwide.

On the general election, Lim felt Pakatan Rakyat was still behind Barisan Nasional in terms of preparedness.
Addressing
the delegates, he said information showed that Barisan was 53% ready in
Selangor and 70% ready in non-Malay areas in Penang.

“We must be realistic. What is the state of readiness in defending our seats and winning more seats?” he asked.